Clinical research staffing has never been a large part of Kforce's ($KFRC) business plan. In 2011, for example, the sector generated less than 10% of the company's total revenue.
So it may not be surprising that Kforce is selling the whole division to inVentiv Health ($VTIV) for $50 million in cash. The company's goal here, according to a Reuters story on the deal, is to focus on its core business lines, which include technology, financial and accounting staffing. In a statement, Kforce Chairman and CEO David Dunkel uses phrases like "changing landscape in the pharmaceutical industry" to explain the decision to narrow the company's focus.
But while Kforce is streamlining, inVentiv is going the other way. The Burlington, MA-based staffing company already has 13,000 employees in 40 countries focused on CRO staffing, outsourcing, commercial and consulting services. And inVentiv also heralds the fact that it has 550-plus pharmaceutical, biotech and life sciences clients. In a statement, inVentiv CEO Paul Meister explained that the Kforce acquisition will help complement the company's other services. Kforce's clinical research division handles contract staffing and permanent placement of clinical research staff for both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
This isn't inVentiv's only purchase. The company announced that the FTC signed off on its plans to buy the SDI Health promotional and medical audit business from IMS Health. And within the last year or so, inVentiv also snatched up PharmaNet and the CRO division of Ingenix. Those latter two buyouts alone brought inVentiv's CRO revenue to close to $900 million.
- read the Reuters story
- check out the inVentiv release
- consider Kforce's announcement